East Bay woman remembers Notre Dame, just got home from visit

SAN RAMON, Calif. (KGO) -- A San Ramon woman, who just got home from Paris Monday night, is feeling emotional Tuesday morning as she looks at pictures of a burned and damaged Notre Dame. Marcy Watson and her husband visited the cathedral on Sunday and took beautiful pictures inside and outside the historic building.

"I am getting goosebumps just thinking about it. I can't believe it," Watson said from her home Tuesday morning.

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It was her first trip to Paris and Notre Dame was the final attraction they visited. It turned out, it was her favorite. She loved it so much, her husband woke her up as they passed it Monday on the way to the airport so she could get one final glimpse of it.

When she was standing inside the cathedral on Sunday, she got emotional.

"I started crying. I had no it was as powerful as it was. I thought we were just going to go look at how beautiful it was I had no idea the impact it was going to have on me," she said.

PHOTOS: A look inside and outside Notre Dame Cathedral during fire

The Watsons were on the plane while the cathedral was on fire and had no idea it was burning. They got the news when they landed.

"My knees just dropped," she said.

Now she is wondering what was damaged and what is salvageable.

"I have seen the roof fall in right where we were standing. I did see some of the reliefs on the side. I am hoping they are all OK. They are absolutely amazing," she said.

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She wishes she had the means to offer a significant amount of help to the rebuilding effort. She says if the cathedral's beauty brought her to tears, she can only imagine what it means to Parisians.

"How must they feel? It must be like losing a parent, a place of comfort. I am sure they will rebuild, but it will never be the same," she said.

Check out more stories and videos about the Notre Dame Cathedral Fire.